Andrew Upton is an Australian playwright, screenwriter, producer and director. He has adapted the works of
Gorky,
Chekhov,
Ibsen, and others for London's
Royal National Theatre and the
Sydney Theatre Company. He wrote the original play Riflemind (2007), which premiered at the Sydney Theatre Company to favourable reviews, with
Hugo Weaving starring and
Philip Seymour Hoffman directing the London production.
Upton and his wife, actress
Cate Blanchett, are the co-founders of the film production company Dirty Films, under which Upton served as a producer for the Australian film Little Fish (2005). Upton and Blanchett became joint artistic directors of the Sydney Theatre Company from 2008 until 2012.
Early life and education
Upton attended The King's School, Parramatta, and University of Sydney.[1][2]
Upton's original play Riflemind opened with
Hugo Weaving, playing an ageing rock star planning a comeback, at the Sydney Theatre Company on 5 October 2007, and received a favourable review in Variety.[6][7][8] The London production of Riflemind, directed by
Philip Seymour Hoffman, opened in 2008,[9] but closed as a result of the financial pressure of the
Global Financial Crisis[10][11] after receiving poor popular press reviews.[11][12][13][14][15][16]
In 2008, Upton and wife Cate Blanchett became joint artistic directors of the
Sydney Theatre Company for what became a five-year term.[17][18]
Upton and Blanchett formed a film production company, Dirty Films,[19] whose projects include the films Bangers (1999) and Little Fish (2005).[3][20] Upton wrote, produced and directed the short, Bangers,[3] which starred Blanchett.[21] Upton shares writing credits for the feature film Gone (2007).[22][23]
In June, 2014, Upton was recognised with the Rotary Professional Excellence Award, an award instituted "to honour a person who has demonstrated consistent professional excellence in his or her chosen vocation by contributing to the benefit of the wider community beyond their typical workplace role".[27]
Personal life
Upton and Blanchett met in Australia in the mid-1990s and married on 29 December 1997.[32] The couple have three sons and one daughter,[33][34][35] the latter adopted in 2015.[36][37] The couple's children appeared with Upton in segment 11 of the 2015 film Manifesto.[26]
Upton and Blanchett purchased a house in
East Sussex, England, in early 2016.[38]
^The Sunday Times Staff (28 September 2008).
"Riflemind Misfires". The Sunday Times. London. Archived from
the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2021.